Night Howls on the Hudson

Chapter 12: Family Quarrel

After lunch, Maia changed into a suit. When Sam asked why she getting so dressed up, she explained she was meeting with a classics professor. Luckily, Sam was too drowsy to question her further. Peter had left once Neal fell asleep. Chloe and Peony visited both men midday and Peony promised to keep watch during Maia's absence. Tatyana was keeping Sam company.

As Maia reviewed her list, she tried to put a lid on her jittery nerves. If Electra suspected her, the consequences would be severe, but that no longer seemed very important. She'd been able to perform a little penance and for eighteen hours she'd been free of Electra's hold.

The previous evening, she'd sneaked a mouthful of the potion for herself just before performing the spell on Sam. She'd been so preoccupied with treating the others that she hadn't noticed the impact on herself till late at night. She could have cried aloud when she realized the potion had worked. She and Electra were no longer able to communicate telepathically.

Additional verification came in the morning when Electra summoned her via a text message. It was the first time in countless ages she'd resorted to an external means. Maia managed to stall her till the afternoon. She lingered over a gentle farewell kiss to Sam, hoping it wouldn't be the last one she gave him. He'd smiled at her in his sleep. If her plan failed, that would likely be her last sight of him. If so, it was a good final image. No matter what happened to her, he'd have Dean and his friends.

She took a taxi to Columbia and went to Hamilton Hall where the Department of Classics was located. Before teleporting, she checked her appearance in the mirror of the ladies' room. The severely tailored lines of the Armani gray suit would meet with Electra's approval.

She took a breath and focused ...

When she materialized in Electra's office at her bookstore, the goddess was pacing, her face rigid with anger. Crowley gave a brief nod from his position in a chestnut leather wing-back chair. He was smart, not saying a word.

Maia strode up to her. "When did you notice our link was severed?"

"Just before I texted you."

"Can you reach your other sisters? Alcy? Gemma?"

"Yes. Apparently you were the only one targeted. Have you attempted to reach into Sam's mind?"

Maia shook her head.

"Do it."

Maia took a seat on the sofa and closed her eyes. There was no need to pretend. Instead, she accentuated her effort to contact him, wrinkling her brow in frustration, before finally giving up. "I can't either. What could have caused this?"

"We've become the targets of sabotage, but it appears to be only of select victims. I can no longer reach either Sam or Neal."

"Electra tried connecting with various protégés," Crowley added. "The only severed links are to you, Cheekbones, and the Moose." He turned to Electra. "Who else besides you can break links?"

Electra sat down beside Maia. "My father is capable of the act but he hasn't descended to Earth in millennia. I refuse to believe he would stoop to something so low."

"But Thanatos would," Maia suggested, seizing the opening Electra had provided.

Her face flashed acknowledgment. "Of course! It has to be him."

"And who, pray tell, is Thanatos?" Crowley prompted when Electra didn't explain further.

"Electra's brother," Maia explained. "He rules over Oblivion."

Crowley waved his hand in a circle. "Don't stop there. Is Oblivion a delicious variant of Hell? Did Junior supplant Hades as the ruler of the Greek underworld?"